Page 1 of Her Rogue to Kiss Good Morning
Prologue
The cold winter wind cut sharply through the streets as Clara James, Lady Cocwood, made her way to her sister’s home.Her breath misted in the frigid air, her steps quick and determined as the snow crunched underfoot.The heavy weight of her shawl barely did anything to ward off the chill, but she barely noticed.There was only one thing on her mind—getting to her sister’s doorstep.She loathed the path her choices had forced her to take.The last thing she wished to do was beg her sister for help.Especially considering how Juliet had been forced to find her own way after Clara’s mother had kicked her out of the house.Juliet must hate Clara, and she likely loathed her mother even more so.
Her hands, trembling both from the cold and the nervousness that twisted within her chest, gripped the handle of the small bag she had brought with her, the only possession she had truly cared to bring.As she neared the large, imposing door of Sinbrough House, Clara paused for a moment to steady her breath.The massive estate loomed above her, a picture of wintertime grandeur, its dark stonework framed by intricate ironwork that glistened with frost.She had never been to this house.Had never even met the man that her sister had married.It had been years since she had even seen her sister.Now she was brought low by her decision to elope.A decision she regretted more than anything.No that was not entirely true.She also regretted the distance that had been placed between her and Juliet.Her mother had thrown Juliet out of the house and refused to help her.Now her mother had done the same to her.She had been disowned because she had run off and married.That fateful day had ruined her life and mere hours after she had said her vows, her husband, Lord Cocwood, had died in a horrific fall during a horse race.A race he had foolishly thought he would win even though he was far too foxed to have undertaken it to begin with.
Clara swallowed back the bitter taste of grief that still clung to her throat.She had never imagined herself having to beg her sister for anything, but now she had no choice.Clara prayed that Juliette would help her and that she would not be forced to do something dreadful to survive.The little funds she had left were meager and if Juliet refused to help her… Well, then, she would not survive.She had nowhere else to go.Before she could raise her hand to knock, the door swung open, revealing an imposing butler with hair as white as the snow that fell around her.He narrowed his gaze on her and said in a haughty tone, “How may I assist you?”
Clara’s voice, usually poised, now faltered with an edge of desperation.“I am here to see my sister,” she said, her words coming out in a rush.“It is urgent.”
“And who might your sister be?”He raised a brow.
Clara swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.She had to get inside this house.It was imperative that she spoke with her sister.She lifted her chin and said in a decisive tone, “Her Grace the Duchess of Sinbrough.”
He stared her for several moments as if he was not certain if he should believe her and then the butler gave a curt nod and stepped aside, allowing Clara to enter the warmth of the grand hall.The contrast between the biting cold outside and the welcoming heat of the house was immediate, but it did little to ease the heavy weight pressing on her chest.
Juliet had been married for just a month now to the Duke of Sinbrough, and Clara had not dared to visit sooner.She had not truly thought her sister would welcome her.But there was no one else she could turn to now.Her mother had refused to help her—too concerned with her own reputation to care for Clara’s grief or her plight.But Juliet...Juliet would understand.She had to believe that because the possibility of anything else would prove disastrous.
“Wait here,” the butler told her.“I must see if Her Grace is home to visitors.”As if Clara was not family… Though she could understand why the butler didn’t consider her to be a relation of Juliet’s.It wasn’t as if they had been a part of each other’s lives for some time now.She stood in the foyer and waited for what seemed like an eternity until the butler returned.
“Follow me,” he instructed her.The butler led her through the opulent hallway, and Clara’s thoughts swirled back to when they had been children, and their family home had felt more like a sanctuary than a place of obligation.Back when their father had been alive their lives had been vastly different.He had been warm and affectionate.Sometimes she wondered what her father had seen in her mother.They were complete opposites.
Juliet was seated by the fire in the drawing room, her posture elegant as ever.Her blonde hair was secured in an elegant chignon and her eyes the same bright blue that Clara remembered.The concern in those blue eyes was more than she could have hoped for as Clara hurried forward.
“Clara?”Juliet’s voice was soft, but it trembled with emotion.“What is it?”
“Juliet,” Clara said as a sob escaped.“I need your help.I made a terrible mistake and now Mother won’t let me come home.”
“Come in.”She gestured toward a nearby settee.Juliet glanced at her husband and he only nodded at her with some unspoken communication.“You can stay with us.You don’t need to worry.”
“Thank you,” Clara said.“I wasn’t certain you would help me.Mother should never have allowed you to be thrown out.I wish…”
She hated this… Hated it so much.Damn her mother and her unyielding opinions.
“Don’t wish for anything,” Juliet told her.“You were no more than a child yourself at the time.There was nothing you could do.”
“I was old enough to know it was wrong,” Clara said vehemently.“I was as close to an adult as I was a child.In between and with no say…” She sighed.“But you’re right.There is no going back.We cannot undo what has already been done.
“I am happy,” Juliet told her.“I never imagined I could ever be so happy.”She glanced at the duke again.The love in her sister’s gaze was a welcome sight.The duke looked at her in the same way.How lovely...“So do not let the past dictate what you do from now on.Tell me what happened, and perhaps we can help you find your own happiness.”
“I eloped,” Clara said.“And now I am a penniless widow.My marriage lasted mere hours, and now I have nothing.”
“Oh Clara,” she said sympathetically.“Come here,” she told her, then hugged her against her.“You have a home with us, and its time it will become easier.Don’t worry about anything.I have you.”
“I have no other choice, Juliette,” Clara said, her voice breaking slightly.“I’m lost.Completely lost.I...He’s dead… He was such a bloody fool, but I suppose so was I.”
Juliet rose from her chair, her hands instinctively reaching for her sister.“Tell me what’s happened.”
Clara’s chest tightened as she recounted the calamity of her marriage.How her wedding day had turned to devastation when her husband had taken a foolish wager, one that ended in his tragic death.“It was only hours after we married,” she murmured, the bitter memory still so raw.“I’ve been left with nothing.No husband, no future.”
Juliet’s face softened in sympathy as she took Clara’s hands in hers.“And your mother refused to allow you to come home…”
Clara’s voice dropped to a whisper.“I have nothing...Th scandal…” She sighed.“Mother has disowned me.”She looked at her sister, her eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and desperation.“I need your guidance.I need a way out of this.I can’t do this on my own.”
Juliet’s gaze hardened with determination as she pulled Clara close.“You are not alone.Not anymore.We will figure this out together.”She smiled softly.“I know exactly who we can go to for assistance.Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the Dowager Countess of Wyndam.She will know exactly what to do.”
The two sisters embraced, their hearts bound by a shared history of love and loss.But as the flames of the fire flickered in the hearth, Clara knew one thing—she had finally found someone who would fight for her, and perhaps, together, they could rebuild what had been shattered.Her life was not as over as she had thought.She knew that Juliet would know what to do.
Clara sank into the settee beside her sister, her shoulders trembling as the warmth of Juliet’s presence seeped into her very bones.For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she allowed herself a measure of relief, though it was tinged with the lingering sting of her mother’s disapproval.
